Xiao Zhuang (蕭莊; 548–577?), often known by his princely title of Prince of Yongjia (永嘉王), was a grandson of Emperor Yuan of Liang, who was declared by the general Wang Lin to be the legitimate emperor of the

Liang dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () or Xiao Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was pre ...

in 558, under military assistance by Northern Qi. He thus was one of the three claimants to the

Southern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

throne, competing with Emperor Xuan of Western Liang, who was supported by

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties of China's ...

, and the

Chen dynasty The Chen dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Chen (南陳 / 南朝陳) in historiography, was a Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese imperial dynasty and the fourth and last of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Southern dynasties, ...

's founder Emperor Wu of Chen and later his nephew Emperor Wen of Chen. In 560, with Wang Lin defeated by Chen troops, both Wang and Xiao Zhuang fled to Northern Qi, ending their rivalry with Chen and the Western Liang. While Northern Qi emperors made promises to return Xiao Zhuang to the Liang throne, Northern Qi was never able to accomplish that promise, and Xiao Zhuang died shortly after Northern Qi's own destruction in 577.

Early life

Xiao Zhuang was born in 548, as the son of Xiao Fangdeng (), the oldest son and

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

of Xiao Yi the Prince of Xiangdong, and Lady Xu Zhaopei. The name of his mother is not known to history. At the time of Xiao Zhuang's birth, his great-grandfather Emperor Wu was under siege by the rebel general Hou Jing inside the capital

Jiankang Jiankang (), or Jianye (), as it was originally called, was the capital city of the Eastern Wu (229–265 and 266–280 CE), the Jin dynasty (265–420), Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420 CE) and the Southern Dynasties (420–552), including the Ch ...

, and Xiao Yi had sent Xiao Fangdeng to Jiankang as part of the confluence of provincial troops trying to lift the siege on Jiankang. Xiao Fangdeng distinguished himself during the campaign, but eventually Hou captured Jiankang in 549, taking Emperor Wu and Xiao Yi's older brother Xiao Gang the

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

hostage. After Jiankang's fall, the provincial troops disbanded, and Xiao Fangdeng took his troops back to Xiao Yi's headquarters at Jiangling. Later that year, Xiao Fangdeng died while battling his cousin Xiao Yu () the Prince of Hedong. In 552, Xiao Yi, after defeating Hou, declared himself emperor (as Emperor Yuan). He created Xiao Zhuang the Prince of Yongjia. In late 554,

Western Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Western Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei. One of the Northern dynasties during the era of the Northern and Southern dynasties, it ruled the weste ...

forces attacked and captured Jiangling, which Emperor Yuan had made capital. Around the new year 555, Western Wei forces put Emperor Yuan to death and declared his nephew Xiao Cha emperor (as Emperor Xuan). All but one of Emperor Yuan's sons, Xiao Fangzhi the Prince of Jin'an (who was not at Jiangling), were put to death as well. Most Liang provinces refused to recognize Emperor Xuan as emperor, and the chief of Emperor Yuan's generals, Wang Sengbian, welcomed Xiao Fangzhi to Jiankang, which he controlled, and declared him the Prince of Liang, preparing to make him emperor. Meanwhile, when Jiangling fell, Xiao Zhuang was hidden by the

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

nun Famu () and therefore was spared from his grandfather's and his uncles' fate. Eventually, he was delivered to one of Emperor Yuan's generals, Wang Lin, and Wang Lin delivered him to Jiankang. Despite Wang Sengbian's intent to make Xiao Zhuang's uncle Xiao Fangzhi emperor, he soon changed his mind when he became fearful of Northern Qi after Northern Qi forces scored several victories against his. He accepted the proposal of Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi to make Emperor Yuan's cousin Xiao Yuanming emperor, and he declared Xiao Yuanming emperor in summer 555. Wang Sengbian's lieutenant Chen Baxian was displeased by Wang Sengbian's decision, and in fall 555, he made a surprise attack on Jiankang, killing Wang Sengbian and deposing Xiao Yuanming. He declared Xiao Fangzhi emperor (as Emperor Jing). Northern Qi forces almost immediately attacked, and while Chen was able to repel them, in order to try to make peace with Northern Qi, he sent Xiao Zhuang, as well as his nephew Chen Tanlang (), and Wang Min () the son of the key official Wang Chong () as hostages to Northern Qi.

Reign

In 557, Chen Baxian had Emperor Jing yield the throne to him, establishing the

as its Emperor Wu. In spring 558, Wang Lin, who had been resisting Chen and had wanted to try to continue the Liang dynasty, requested assistance from Northern Qi and asked that Xiao Zhuang be returned so that he could be declared emperor. Northern Qi did so, and Wang declared Xiao Zhuang emperor at his headquarters of Jiangxia (江夏, in modern

Wuhan Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

). Wang served as prime minister, and it appeared that Xiao Zhuang did not actually exercise much imperial power due to his young age. Ten provinces pledged allegiance to him as emperor, making up roughly modern

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

and central and eastern

. In 559, after the death of Chen Baxian and succession by Chen Baxian's nephew Emperor Wen of Chen, Wang launched a major attack on Chen, leaving Xiao Zhuang at Jiangxia under the protection of his lieutenant Sun Yang (). In spring 560, when Western Wei's successor state

heard of Wang's campaign, it launched an attack on Jiangxia and put it under siege. Meanwhile, Wang, engaging Chen general Hou Tian (), was defeated and forced to flee to Northern Qi. Xiao Zhuang soon fled to Northern Qi as well, and his territory was divided between Chen and Northern Zhou's vassal Emperor Xuan.

After reign

Northern Qi kept Xiao Zhuang as an honored guest, and in 570, the emperor Gao Wei created Xiao Zhuang the Prince of Liang and made a promise to try to return him to the Liang throne. However, faced with internal issues with corruption and infighting, Northern Qi itself was weakening, and on 22 November 573,''yisi'' day of the 10th month of the 5th year of the ''Tai'jian'' era, per vol.05 of ''Book of Chen'' Wang Lin, a major proponent of Xiao Zhuang's cause, was captured and killed by the Chen general Wu Mingche during a major Chen attack on Northern Qi. In 577, Northern Qi fell to Northern Zhou. Xiao Zhuang was said to be so upset that he died shortly after at the Northern Qi capital Yecheng.

Era name

* ''Tianqi'' (天啟 tiān qǐ) 558–560

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xiao, Zhuang Liang dynasty emperors Northern Qi government officials 548 births 570s deaths Politicians from Jingzhou